Commentary: Ramadan, more about extravagance than frugality

Endy M. Bayuni ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 09/03/2008 10:42 AM  |  Headlines

For Trade Minister Mari Pangestu, Ramadan means extra work. Her office has to ensure the nation has enough supplies to meet the rising demand for basic foodstuffs, from rice and vegetables to sugar, flour, cooking oil, eggs, chicken and meat.

Over at Bank Indonesia, central bank governor Budiono is calculating how much more money to put into the system to ensure there is enough to meet the extra demand characteristic of this time of the year while still keeping inflation under control.

The result, no matter how hard these two officials try, will still be an increase in the consumer price index, making it higher than in any other month (taking out the inflationary impact of the rises in domestic fuel prices).

The public has come to accept, though grudgingly for some homemakers, that the prices of most basic foodstuffs are higher in Ramadan. Economists call this phenomenon a seasonal fluctuation.

Despite the efforts of Mari Pangestu and Budiono, at the end of the day, there is still too much money chasing too few goods every time Ramadan comes around. This has been the pattern every year now.

All this means that, compared with the rest of the year, we Indonesians eat much more food during the holy fasting month.

This is probably an understatement. Given that the government increases the supply of basic foodstuffs significantly and still consumer prices increase faster than normal, Ramadan is a time when most of us are stuffing ourselves like there's no tomorrow.

Something is not quite right with this picture.

Ramadan, as we are taught from childhood, is supposed to be a time for frugality. We are fasting in order to feel and appreciate what it is like to be poor, to go without food and drink, not for days on end like what real poor people endure, but just for a few hours, between sunrise and sunset.

It is by being hungry that one supposedly has a spiritual experience during Ramadan.

Logically, the demand for food should be lower, and inflation should therefore be the lowest of the year, not the highest.

Assuming that everyone strictly observes fasting during the daytime (there is no reason to doubt it), this raises the question of how much can you really stuff yourself between sunset and sunrise?

Granted, some of the expected higher inflation is triggered by rising demand for the big feast as we celebrate the victory of good over bad (or evil) at the end of Ramadan.

Some of the extra demand for money can be accounted for by the fact that workers are getting their annual bonuses this month, and many urban dwellers celebrate Idul Fitri in their rural home villages. Besides, Ramadan is also the time when we feel more generous and charitable than usual, hence the extra spending.

But it is also true that during Ramadan, we are eating more food that is rich, in terms of sugar and calorie content. Not surprisingly, for many, Ramadan is the time when they put on a few more kilos and add a few more inches around the waist.

For many Jakarta Muslims, it has become a trend to break the fast together (buka puasa bersama) in restaurants. During weekdays, it's with colleagues and business relations. At weekends, it's with families.

Eating out, which is a sign of growing prosperity, is more intense during Ramadan. Just try getting a table at your favorite restaurant, whether on weekdays or weekends. Or visit hotel cafes that serve all sorts of buffet, and see how some people take "all-you-can-eat" literally.

For those in the restaurant business, this is the time to make a killing. And of course it's all halal. Imagine serving all those religiously inspired people. God must love them all.

Is this too cynical a view of Ramadan in Indonesia? Maybe.

But the growing prosperity for some of us, prompted by commerce, has turned Ramadan from a month of frugality to a month of extravagance. And this is happening even when one out of two Indonesians are still living in poverty.

And no one, not the least the government or the religious leaders, seems to have any qualms about the waning spiritual message of Ramadan to want to try to change it.

Happy Ramadan.

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